


Vestibular

by dragonashes



Series: Quintessence: Undertale One-shots [12]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Claustrophobia, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 22:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9208967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonashes/pseuds/dragonashes
Summary: A year after the last RESET, Sans has settled down with his brother on the surface.Then a throwaway comment brings up something he hoped he'd never face again.  What's a monster to do when his worst fear is so irrational?





	

**Author's Note:**

> “What is the vestibular? The vestibular is another important part of the inner ear. The vestibular is the organ of equilibrium. The vestibular’s function is to register the body's movements, thus ensuring that we can keep our balance.”  
> ~From [http://www.hear-it.org](http://www.hear-it.org/The-inner-ear-1)

“Sans,”  Papyrus said, pausing in his fight with the strings of his apron.

“yeah, paps?”

“When are you going to clean out the basement?  I know you said you’d get to it ‘later,’ but you haven’t touched it in a full year.  All your equipment from our old home is still in boxes, and that machine you used to tinker around with so much is in pieces.  Do you think you could take a look at it this weekend?”

The question was casual - almost too casual.  It had nothing of Papyrus’s normal enthusiasm, and Sans didn’t have to look at his brother to know that he was watching for any flinch or sign of distress.  Sans made sure there was nothing for Papyrus to see.

He also  _ really, really _ didn’t want to go down into the basement.  Just having it there was a huge weight on his mind: a constant reminder that at any time he could be dragged back down into a dark hole with no sunlight or stars and  _ left there to  R O T. _

He realized that Papyrus was still looking at him - openly, now - and waiting for an answer.   “uh, sure thing, paps.  i’ll clear my busy schedule and see if i can organize the mess a little.”

There was a pause as both he and Papyrus waited for the inevitable pun, but...Sans’s mind was strangely blank.

Papyrus recovered quicker than Sans did.  “W-well, I am glad to see you finally doing something about it.  Also, you have not touched your breakfast spaghetti.”

Sans looked down at his still-full plate.

“i’m, uh, not really hungry right now.  can you stick it in the fridge for me?”

“DO IT YOURSELF, LAZYBONES!”

Sans was already gone.

He hadn’t gone far - just upstairs to his room - but once Sans rematerialized he collapsed onto the bed like he’d traveled across the city.  His breathing was too fast, too shallow.   _ Something _ pounded in his bones; magic, he assumed, but it could have been anything, really.  He tried to focus on the scientific marvel that was his physical composition, but his mind wouldn’t  _ sit still _ long enough for it.

He’d...he’d promised to go into the basement.  He’d promised to go  _ into the basement _ .  What on earth was he thinking?  He’d avoided it for a  _ reason _ .  He felt a brief surge of anger at Papyrus for forcing him into this situation, but pushed it aside.  It wasn’t Papyrus’s fault, not at all.  It was his own fault; his fault for being weak, for being cowardly, for not just explaining himself to his own brother.  It was  _ Papyrus _ .  He’d...well, not understand, but at least empathise.

Sans knew he was breathing far too quickly.  It didn’t matter, not in the same way it mattered to humans, but it still wasn’t good for him.  He wracked his overstressed mind for some way to calm down.  He recalled something: Frisk, caught up in the memory one of her deaths, curled into herself and rocking back and forth.  For lack of any better ideas he crawled off his bed, blanket in tow, and curled himself into a ball on the floor.

It felt...well, it felt a little better, at least.  He felt more secure; more  _ together _ .  He pressed the top of his cranium closer to his patellas, reveling in the dull ache that spread through the bones from the pressure.  The pain was unpleasant, sure, but it was  _ his _ .  It was something  _ he _ could control.  He wrapped the blanket closer around himself.

The only downside to this position, the rational part of his mind noted, was that his breathing was slightly hampered by the bulk around his middle.  He had never understood why (or  _ how _ ) a skeleton put on weight, but it wasn’t doing him any favors at the moment.  He eased up a little, trying to achieve the feeling of closeness he wanted while taking the pressure off his weird magic belly.

Taking deep breaths, he thought back to the conversation a few minutes before.  Panic still threatened on the edges of his memory when he remembered Papyrus’s words and concerned expression.  He  _ had _ to do  _ something _ \- that much was clear - but he really, really wished there was something he could do without actually entering the basement.  Wild plans flitted through his mind; he flirted with the idea of burning the house down ( _ too risky; paps might get hurt _ ) and lifting the house off its foundations momentarily to give the basement some breathing space ( _ not sure i could hold it up that long...or put it down exactly the way it should go _ ).

He knew, he  _ knew _ that he was being irrational, and the part of his mind that loved all things science was laughing at him for it.  He was having a legitimate panic attack, he realized.  He was having a  _ panic attack _ , and he was a  _ skeleton _ .  How was that even  _ possible? _  He clearly lacked the physical and chemical components that caused panic attacks in humans and most monsters, but he was panicking all the same.

_ tell the media; i’m a friggin’ miracle. _

“SANS!”

Oh.  Right.  Papyrus.

“SANS, YOU CAN’T JUST RUN AWAY FROM YOUR BREAKFAST LIKE THAT.  IT ISN’T EVEN QUICHE!”

“‘mokay, paps,” he said.

“SANS, I CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOU THROUGH THE DOOR IF YOU MUTTER.”

Sans turned so his mouth wasn’t muffled by his sleeves and repeated himself.

“I  _ highly _ doubt you are,” Papyrus said in a much quieter voice.  “In fact…”

Sans didn’t react when the door slammed open to reveal the bundle of energy that was his little brother.

“SINCERITY HUG!”

“can’t breathe, paps!”

“YOU’RE A SKELETON, BROTHER!  YOU DON’T NEED TO BREATHE!”  He loosened his hold slightly, anyways.

“oh, right.”

Sans relaxed into the hug.  The sincerity dissolved a large amount of his remaining panic, leaving only a low level of distress that could be shoved to the side and ignored.  Tears inexplicably pooled in his eye sockets, despite lack of actual tear ducts.  Another mystery.

“thanks, bro.”

“Anytime!”  Sans could hear the smile in Papyrus’s voice.  “THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE COOLEST OF BROTHERS!  IF YOU REQUIRE A HUG, DO NOT HESITATE TO TELL ME!”

Sans tightened his hold on his brother.  He committed the feeling to memory.  Maybe it would be enough to stave off the impending crisis.  Even if it wasn’t, it was enough for the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I thought it would be interesting to have a monster develop a fear of enclosed spaces after leaving the Underground. Most traumas don't develop until after the fact, after all; it's a survival tactic. Sans was the logical choice due to the fact that he knows about RESETs: he knows he could, at any time, find himself back Underground. Whether he actually remembers RESETs or not is irrelevant in this context, but do feel free to speculate.
> 
> The term "Sincerity Hug" (and Papyrus in an apron) is a reference to [zarla-s's comic on a comforting Papyrus](http://zarla.deviantart.com/art/THE-HUGS-COMPEL-YOU-566673736). Her "Handplates" comic explores a possible backstory for Sans and Papyrus, and draws on everything from psychology to obscure game trivia. I don't think it could be canon (THAT much trauma would probably produce a different end result) but it's an interesting - and heartbreaking - read.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story, please check out my author profile or the series, "Quintessence: Undertale One-shots." I post every Wednesday and Saturday barring editing struggles, personal catastrophes, and AO3's occasional meltdowns. I'm finishing up a longer story; when that's done, I will be posting chapters of that instead. I really hope you all enjoy.


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